Kingdom Hearts III: Tied to Destiny
by FecklessNeophyte
Summary: Thirteen Darknesses, Seven Lights. These are the catalysts used to create the legendary Kingdom Hearts. Join Sora and his friends as they fight for the side of light to save all the worlds.
1. New Beginnings

**AN: Well, here we are at the start! I've finally figured out how to do chapters, thankfully, so I hope to at least start writing the new chapter tonight. I know this is kinda short, but I'm gonna try to make them longer in the future! Enough dilly-dallying, I suppose, onto the story!**

Waves lapped agains the beach of Destiny Islands, the wind picking up the salty sweet scent of the ocean. Sora leaned against the paopu tree that he and his friends had played by together, planned their trip across the ocean to discover new and exciting worlds, where they'd reunited, where they'd been sent off on their new adventure.

He would stand there most days, waiting for the inevitable call to action. When Master Yen Sid had told him and Riku that the fight with Xehanort was coming closer and closer, Sora'd been growing more and more worrisome. He'd saved the world before, sure. But, this battle would be the end-all-be-all of all the worlds, new and old. That sort of pressure was something that terrified him.

Thankfully, Sora knew that he'd have Riku by his side and the King, along with the friends that Mickey kept talking about. Terra, Aqua, and Ventus the King had said. Keyblade masters from long ago, long before even Kairi had come to the island. A memory tugged at the back of Sora's mind when he'd heard those names, but, he couldn't for the life of him place it.

Still, counting off the warriors of light, himself, Riku, the King, these three old masters, that left one spot still open. Sora had racked his brain trying to figure out who the final warrior could be.

 _There's Kairi_ , Sora thought to himself, leaning his face against the wind. He shook the thought from his head. Kairi had the ability to wield a Keyblade, sure, but, he'd only seen her use it one time, and not for long. It wasn't that he doubted her, far from it; he just didn't want her to be hurt or get lost again.

Surprisingly, during their last bout with Xehanort, Lea had shown up. Sora was still having trouble calling him that, having known him as Axel for so long. As it turned out, even Lea had the ability to wield a Keyblade. As amazing as his skill was, to summon a Keyblade on his own, Sora knew that inexperience would get people hurt, or worse…

Sora thought back to what Xehanort had said. " _You are the one who has made your heart a prison_ ". He brought a hand to his chest, moving the necklace he had away from his sternum. He rested a hand over his heart and felt the pulse beneath the skin. Was his heart really… A prison? But, he wondered, for whom?

He remembered his first adventure, something that seemed like a lifetime ago. He'd been desperately trying to find Riku and Kairi. Riku had given into the Darkness. Kairi was missing, and Sora had been determined to save them both. On his journey, he'd come across Donald and Goofy, royal advisors to King Mickey. Together, they'd travelled across many worlds, looking for them.

Sora had eventually found that Kairi's heart was within his own. Did that mean that other hearts were trapped inside his? Sora felt his anxiety rise at the thought that others could be sealed away, stuck in his heart.

Even when Sora had found out about Roxas, how much he'd gone through, and even though Roxas had willingly joined with Sora, he couldn't help but feel horrible for what had happened to him, and wanted him to be his own person more than anything. And now, Roxas was in his heart, did that mean he was trapped, too?

And, if they're trapped…, Sora thought, is there any way for me to help them out? To get them back to how they were before? And just how many hearts were… Locked inside his…? Part of him didn't even want to know. As he mulled over the days, weeks, or, maybe, months to come, Sora heard a voice.

"Hey," Sora turned around and grinned.

"Oh, hi, Riku!" he called, waving. Riku walked over and leaned against the tree beside Sora. He took a deep breath and smiled. "How's it going, Mr. Keyblade Master?" Sora asked with a wry chuckle. Riku shook his head, letting loose a chuckle of his own.

"It's fine," he assured. "You know, just trying to prepare for… Well, you know." Sora sighed and swung his legs up onto the tree, climbing up and laying on the trunk as it went across most of the tiny island off of the one they played on since before they could remember. He looked out at the ocean and sighed.

"You think we can do it?" Sora eventually said after a minute or two of silence. Riku glanced over towards him, then back to the ocean. When Riku didn't answer, Sora looked over. "Do you… Do you think we can beat Xehanort, Riku?"

Riku took a deep breath. "You know what, Sora? I'm not sure. But, you know what?" he looked at his friend. "With you fighting by my side, I'm not scared. We'll all be alright and we'll stop Xehanort in his tracks."

Sora felt a smile come to his face. Then came a small laugh. "Yeah," he said. "We can do this; together." He leaned against the tree again, feeling the sea breeze rustle through his hair. He closed his eyes. It wasn't long before another voice caught the boys' attention.

"Sora, Riku!" Sora perked up and sat upright on the tree. Running onto the small section of island was his other best friend; Kairi. She was holding something in her hand as she came in between the other two. Riku pushed himself off of the tree and looked over to Kairi.

"Hey, Kairi!" Sora greeted, smiling. But, when he saw Kairi's expression, his smile faded. She looked worried. And that made Sora worry. He hopped off of the tree and walked up to Kairi, putting a hand on her shoulder. "What's the matter?" he asked softly.

Kairi took a deep breath. "It's a letter…" she said, holding out a folded piece of paper. On it was the King's symbol. Riku and Sora gasped and looked at the letter. Kairi slowly unfolded it and held it out so all three of the could read it.

Sora, Riku, Kairi,

I'm real sorry for callin' you out of nowhere like this, but, Master Yen Sid said it's real urgent. Turns out, we just might've found a way to find Terra, Aqua, and Ven! It'll be tough, but I know that, if we work together, we just might get it done! Donald and Goofy will be joinin' us, too, fellas.

Remember, this'll be kinda dangerous, so be sure to come prepared. We just might end up fightin' someone. We'll do our best to stay out of trouble, but we wanna be able to get our friends outta trouble, too.

See ya real soon.

Mickey

Sora must've reread the note at least three times over. Was it really happening? Were they about to start their fight against Xehanort…? He felt a lurch in his chest; was it anxiety? He was nervous that they wouldn't be able to manage to save the King's friends or that they wouldn't be ready to fight against Xehanort in time. All these questions ran through his head, only to be interrupted by Riku.

"Well, you guys?" Riku said, looking confident. Was it a front? Sora wasn't sure. "You read the note. They found a way to help those three. So, let's get going to help them." he looked at Sora. "It's what we do, right?"

Kairi smiled. "Yeah!" she said cheerily. "We can do it, together!" She put her hand out, smiling. Riku rolled his eyes, still smiling before placing his hand on top of Kairi's. They both looked at Sora, smiles on their faces.

Sora felt his smile creep back onto his face. What was he thinking? Of course they'd all be okay. He'd make sure that everyone got out okay… Even if he didn't. He placed his hand on top of Riku's.

"All for one?" Kairi offered.

"And one for all!" Sora said, raising his hand up.


	2. Old Masters

**(AN: Sorry that this chapter wasn't uploaded yesterday! I was spending a little time with my family and friends before I had to go back to school. But, here's the next chapter! I hope you all like it!)**

Sora looked up at the Mysterious Tower. No matter how many times he came here, there was always a sense of nostalgia and apprehension. He wasn't sure why. He never really had time to think of why, though, because there was always some sort of work to be done.

He found himself smiling. The last time he'd come here, he and Riku had been going in to receive the test to see if they'd become true, fully-fledged Keyblade Masters. It was then that they had all learned of Xehanort's true plan. Sora had actually almost fallen victim to the fallen Keyblade Master's plot, becoming the thirteenth vessel of Xehanort that would finish the Darkness's part of the 20 Keyblade wielders needed to complete Kingdom Hearts.

Riku had saved him, diving back into his nightmare to wake Sora up and had saved him. He was so glad that he'd had his best friend by his side, and that he'd been there to save him in the nick of time. Riku had told him to 'forget about it' and that, 'it was nothing', but, Sora couldn't have been more grateful.

"Well," Kairi said, smiling. "Are we gonna wait around all day or head in?" Sora looked over at her and smiled at her like she was the sun after a long rainy day. He found himself blushing a little and felt determination swell within him.

"Let's go," Sora said. Riku and Kairi nodded, and the three of them entered the Mysterious Tower together.

After climbing the innumerable stairs of the tower, the three of them made it; Master Yen Sid and the King were waiting for them. Both of them looked simultaneously happy to see them and worried. Sora didn't have to ask why.

"Sora, Riku, and Kairi," Master Yen Sid began. "I want to thank you for coming in on such short notice. As you read in Mickey's letter, new developments have been made as of late. And, to accomplish these goals, we're going to need your help."

"Of course, Master Yen Sid," Riku spoke up. He, Master Yen Sid, and the King had been working together a lot since his and Sora's Mark of Mastery exam. Since Riku had become a true Keyblade Master, he'd been given more knowledge and opportunities to explore the worlds.

Sora didn't want to admit it, but, he was jealous. He'd wanted so badly to be a Keyblade Master, he just wasn't ready yet. He was so proud of his friend. He'd come so far and Sora knew that he was going to pass the test, even before it had started. He shook his head a little, focusing his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Well, fellas," the King said. "You all must know at this point about our three wielders that have since gone missing; Terra, Ventus, and Master Aqua." Riku and Kairi nodded but Sora frowned. He raised a hand timidly.

"Sora, you do not need to raise your hand," Master Yen Sid waved his hand a bit.

"Uh," Sora scratched the back of his neck. "Could you run it by me again? I just want to make sure I know exactly what's going on." Riku and Kairi looked at him and frowned. "Sorry," Sora apologized quickly.

"Don't be sorry, Sora," the King said. "I mean, gosh, even I get confused with this entire thing sometimes." He laughed, which made Sora feel a bit better about asking. Master Yen Sid stroked his beard, as if thinking how to best explain the situation.

He eventually interlaced his fingers on the desk, looking at the three youths in front of him. "As you know, you three are not the first wielders of the Keyblade." he said. "After the first Keyblade War, there were two other Masters of the Keyblade, Master Xehanort, you know already." Sora felt his fists clench in anger at the mention of him. Xehanort had caused so much hurt to so many people. He needed to be stopped. "The other is… Was Master Eraqus, who took to teaching new students rather than having adventures of his own.

"Master Eraqus took in two students, Terra and Aqua, from a young age. They were trained to become Masters of the Keyblade. In the midst of their training, Master Xehanort had begun trying to recreate Kingdom Hearts. In order to do this, he needed a being of pure light and pure darkness to clash, creating a weapon known as the χ-blade."

"The χ-blade?" Sora prompted.

"A Keyblade of great power," Master Yen Sid explained. "One powerful enough to open the door to Kingdom Hearts." He sighed. "Master Xehanort sought the χ-blade and, in his efforts to create it, forced two sides of a boy apart. That boy was named Ventus.

"Ventus' heart was split in two, a side of light and one of darkness. The darkness, his negative side, morphed into a being known as Vanitas. But, Ventus was weak after the separation. Master Xehanort did not believe the boy would survive. He left him to die, but, just as he was about to give up hope, the boy miraculously had the ability to wield the Keyblade. Seeing his opportunity, he took Ventus to Master Eraqus in hopes of training him to be able to be the perfect match for Vanitas, and, in turn, forge the χ-blade."

"So, what happened next?" Sora asked. Master Yen Sid sighed softly.

"Ventus trained alongside Aqua and Terra. In time, the two elder wielders were given the Mark of Mastery exam. Although they both performed admirably, Master Xehanort manipulated the test, and, in doing so, caused Terra to lose control of the darkness within him. This caused Master Eraqus to have his doubts about allowing Terra to become a Master, and so, Aqua was made a Keyblade Master.

"In his anger, Terra turned to Master Xehanort who, instead of telling him how to manage his darkness, encouraged him to embrace and use his darkness. Terra listened and went off on his own to train. Ventus wanted to follow in his footsteps and followed. Master Aqua was instructed to bring Ventus back home and then go after Terra.

"Through many worlds, Vanitas and Master Xehanort manipulated the three students to do his bidding and come to the Keyblade Graveyard. There, he, Vanitas, and Braig, the one you all know as Xigbar, fought them."

Sora thought to himself about Xigbar, or, he supposed, Braig. He'd been Organization's second in command, at least by numbers. In his own Mark of Mastery Exam, he, Xemnas, and Ansem had been there to help Xehanort in nearly making him the thirteenth vessel. Braig'd already given himself over and become half Xehanort. The thought made Sora shiver.

"Vanitas and Ventus fought over control of his heart, his body, and the χ-blade. While it looked as though Ventus would lose, he eventually overcame his darker half, shattering his heart in the process.

"Terra, however, fought against Master Xehanort by himself. He fought until he could no longer resist. Master Xehanort used Terra as a vessel, leaving his lingering will behind. His will alone tried to fight to get his body back; it failed. Master Xehanort took Terra's body with him and fled.

"Master Aqua did everything she could to save her friends, but, she was unable to." Master Yen Sid looked down. "She brought Ventus somewhere we know not to keep him safe until she could help him. After that, she braved the Realm of Darkness to find Terra and bring him back. None of them have been seen since…"

Sora let out a shaky breath. Something in him burned to shout, to do something… Tears bubbled beneath the surface, and he rubbed his eyes to smother them before they could come out. He knew then that he'd go to any lengths to save the three missing wielders, no matter what it took.

"What do we need to?" Sora asked, looking resolutely at Master Yen Sid. The old Master smiled a little.

"The first thing we must do," he said. "Is find Master Aqua in the Realm of Darkness. And, to do that, we'll need a way in."

"A way in?" Riku asked. "How are we going to do that? I… I can't…" he looked at his hand worriedly. Sora frowned and pat Riku's shoulder. King Mickey shook his head and gave the three of them a confident smile.

"Don't worry, pals," he said. "We've got someone to help us out."

As if on cue, a Corridor to Darkness appeared in the room. Striding in, his red hair spiked out back, his dark Organization XIII cloak fluttering a bit as he exited the Corridor, was an all too familiar face.

"Hey, you guys," Lea said, walking up to the group. "Heard you needed ol' Lea's help."


End file.
